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2009 Season - lifts available
Topic Started: Nov 5 2008, 11:59 AM (563 Views)
NicC
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OK, I am all booked up for a series of 1 week masochism under Andy's guidance.

I travel from Portsmouth and can give lifts to/from or both. My travel dates are:

11 April return 16 April
9 May return 14 May
13 June return 18 June
11 July return 16 July
and
8 August return 13 August.
Note: I travel up on the Saturday and return straight after the Thursday afternoon's digging

My route is:
Cross country from Portsmouth to M3 at Winchester
A34 to M40
M40 to M42
M42 to M5
M5 to M6
M6 to Carlisle
A69 to the Twicey

I can deviate slightly to pick up/drop off. If you are interested then drop me a PM and we can sort something out.
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Cestrian
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Hi Nicc,

2009 will be my first year at Vindolanda but I thought that I would comment on your route as I will be travelling from Ringwood and know the north-east well (born there and relatives still there) so I am familiar with most north-south routes. I must say I had not thought of going over to the west to use the M6. Had you thought of the following route:

From M3 at Winchester then A34 then M40. (The AA route probably suggests leaving at J10 to take the A43 to the M1 but it is all roundabouts like the A27 east of Portsmouth.) I prefer to leave at J15 to take the ring road around Coventry to join the M69. This is like your own motorway with little traffic on it. You join the M1 at J21. I then continue north up the M1 and A1 to Scotch Corner. If I was visiting relatives I would then head up the A1M through Co. Durham. But for us take the A68 to Hadrian's Wall then west on the A69.
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NicC
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Interesting - I regard the 'west' route as straight up and down, simple, few changes and the northern part of the M6 is almost beautiful! Drive time is 7 hours (trying to keep to about 60mph) - distance, I think, 350 miles. What are the relevant mileage and hours going via your way?
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Cestrian
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Since writing I went to the AA site and found that they suggest 'your' route. From Ringwood via Scotch Corner the mileage is 374 and the time 6h 52m according to the AA. That's taking the A43 route that I would avoid, but can't get the route planner to accept a logical via.
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NicC
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Route Planners - who needs 'em?! Anyway, still open to giving lifts as long as they are reasonably in the general direction!
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SacoHarry
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Oh my, it's like being back at the Twicey many a night, or right in the middle of a Bill Bryson book. I love the British propensity to debate a good auto route!

The best we get over here is all the in-laws talking about how far they made it on their various driving legs from Maine to Florida for the winter, and a nice recap once they all get back in April.
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mhullin
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SacoHarry -

I'm glad you said that so I didn't. This thread's similarities to the Bryson book (Notes From a Small Island) are uncanny:

"If you mention in the pub that you intend to drive from, say, Surrey to Cornwall, a distance that most Americans would happily go to get a taco, your companions will puff their cheeks, look knowingly at each other, and blow out air as if to say, 'Well, now, that's a bit of a tall order,' and then they'll launch into a lively and protracted discussion of whether it's better to take A30 to Stockbridge and then the A303 to Ilchester, or the A361 to Glastonbury via Shepton Mallet."

"Given two or more men in a pub the names of any two places in Britain and they can happily fill hours."

It goes on for several paragraphs, but I'll stop here as I'm sure I've violated some very serious copyright laws already.
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